Meanwhile, Matthew Shevlin warmed up for his Milk Cup exploits with County Antrim later this month by scoring twice to salvage a 3-3 draw with Moyola Park in their latest pre-season game.

Shevlin, who has already carved his name in the club’s history books by becoming the club’s youngest scorer last season, scored twice as a sub after United had trailed 3-1 to the Championship Two side.

* Ballymena United have announced the dates for their three corporate lunches for this season as follows: 3rd October 2015 - Crusaders; 12th December 2015 - Warrenpoint Town; 26th March 2016 - Cliftonville